The Low Down

Book Review: Hero by Fred and Jasen Stoeker

About a year ago, I was taking a student of mine to Central Bible College to check out the campus and on that particular night we were blessed to find out that Fred Stoeker, author of "Every Man's Battle," was going to be sharing with the guys in the evening for a special session. I had heard some amazing things about Fred and his ministry, and since sitting under his ministry we have gone through his book, "Every Young Man's Battle" here at Ignition. However, one thing that I learned while sitting under Fred's ministry that night is that the guy you read about in the book, is the guy that Fred really is. He is passionate about the issues of purity and sexuality that he champions, and he speaks the truth from both God's word and from past experiences. Well, Fred and his son Jasen have since come out with a new book that I have had the opportunity over the past month to review. If you are a husband, soon will be, or even desire to be one some day - then "Hero: Becoming the Man She Desires" is a book that you need to buy, read and then keep in your library.

In "Hero," find out what makes a man an ultimate hero to women who are longing to find a man of faith. Explore what women love about men who stand by their convictions and make their world a safer and better place. I think you'll be amazed at how insightful this book really is. It would make a great Father's Day gift for all of those dad's out there this June 21st.

So check it out. You can find their incredible book and even purchase your own by clicking the following link below. http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400071098&ref=externallink_mlt_hero_kef_0403_01

Late Night Update

I know that it has been forever since I have written my last post. I'm not sure where I should really start so why don't I just give it all to you shotgun style. Oh, and thanks again for reading this post and not giving up on me.

1. I guess the first piece of information should be to give God all of the glory for His protection thus far from the many storms that have hit here in the great OK. As you may know, we have been blessed to buy what we consider to be our dream home here in Enid. We live in a magnificent neighborhood (due to the people that is) amongst all of Kierstyn's school friends. It's awesome. AND two weeks after we moved in, a tornado hit Chisholm Creek Village where our house is nestled in the back corner of the sub-division. We did lose a privacy fence and for a 36 hour period our beloved doggy Deuce. However, the fence has been repaired and the prodigal son has returned home. On a serious note, God has been extremely good to us. Many homes in our neighborhood are still under repair and will be for months. I've never seen anything like this.

2. Kate is now in the middle of the third trimester of her pregnancy. She has about 12 weeks to go and we can't wait for Asher "Ryan" Wardwell to get here. The new nursery is painted, setup and ready to go. I have his little Peyton Manning jersey ready and awaiting him just in time for Pre-Season.

3. For all of the followers of my "still so very surreal book project"...things are moving forward in a quick fashion. I talked to the "conceptual editor" this past week on the phone and he's digging the book, which really is a load off. If I am following my sources at the publishing house correctly, what I hear them saying is that we are entering the final stages of editing. Next we'll be looking at design, layout and then print. It won't be long now. Since I last wrote, I have had the opportunity to build some very awesome friendships and some very cool people have given their nods via book endorsements. I also have an awesome youth ministry friend and mentor who has agreed to foreword the book. Everything is falling into place. Green: Lessons I Have Learned in Youth Ministry the Hard Way is literally just months away from impacting the youth ministry culture. I can't wait.

4. Today my little sweetie graduated from Pre-Kindergarten. I can't believe how time is flying. She received the "Most Expressive" award today during her ceremony. Anyone who knows KJ, knows how fitting this award really is. Last week we took her to see, Disney's: The Lion King the broadway musical that was in Oklahoma City, and there really has to be something said about being able to hear your child's laughter. It's so fufilling and I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful little girl.

5. Two weeks ago, we held an annual even that we call Rock the Night. We packed the house with over 110 students and 14 gave their lives to Christ. This week, many of the same students came back, and inspite of the Tornado Warnings we had another rocking night with lives changed with the message of life. God is really doing something at Ignition and I'm so excited about it. Our new Youth and Family Life Building is completely enclosed and work will begin in a few weeks on the inside of the structure. This 17,000 square foot facility is going to be an awesome place where teenagers can come and hangout, worship, and be discipled. I'm stoked about it.

6. This is an exciting time in our student ministry. Exciting for our students, and yet a little bittersweet for Kate and I. Tonight began the process of saying "goodbye" to some of our students who are graduating and moving on with their futures. This year is tough because we are honoring 8 graduates. I can't ever remember a time in my first eight years of youth ministry where I have graduated this many young people. AND it's challenging to watch 8 young men and women who we love with everything we have mature and prepare to leave for jobs, college and the military. It's going to be hard to let them go, but I believe that we have done everything we know to do to give them a good solid foundation on Christ to stand on as they enter the next level of their lives. We're proud of each one of you and we can't help but stand in the wings and cheer for you. You're going to do amazing!

7. We're garage selling this weekend. So far we're knocking it out of the park with kids clothing. I hope tomorrow is as good as today was.

8. AND now its time for bed. We have a huge weekend ahead of us, so I must crash. Let's catch up on Facebook, Twitter or Text. I'd love to hear from you. God bless and have a great weekend.

Exciting Updates

I'm excited to announce that I received the word on Tuesday that my book is now officially in the editing process and that publishing editors have it in their hands. They are working on the nuts and bolts of grammar and grammatical corrections. The next step is for the book to be sent to the conceptual editing department to make sure that every thought is complete and that every thing I am wanting to say gets across to the reader the way I intended for it to be read.

I have officially come up with a name for the book and this is the first time that I have ever publicly released the name (so feel very honored that you are in the know)...the book title is "Green: Lessons I Learned in Youth Ministry the Hard Way". As I mentioned before in a previous blog, the whole idea and concept of "Green" is for me to be able to share stories and insights of ministry flubbers and mishaps that happened to me as a first generation youth pastor coming right out of Bible college. In the book, I share about some of the emotional trip wires that were triggered in my younger years of ministry because I was green and inexperienced. I talk about the importance of what we do as youth leaders because I believe what we do is vital for this generation. AND my prayer is that you will never become a casualty. I heard this past week that the average tenure of a Pastor in America is now 12 years. I dont' know about you, but I'm tired of hearing about youth pastors who fell prey and burned out because of the emotional side of ministry.

On another note, I'm extremely excited to have some youth ministry heroes on board for the promotion of the book. Their endorsements have solidified in my heart the importance of getting this book out to the youth ministry world. It has humbled me to see that they are just as excited as I am for this book to find its way into youth leader's hands all across the world. We still do not have a release date, but we are getting a whole lot closer to knowing when that will be. I'll be sure to keep you in the loop. Thanks for checking in.

Student Leadership

Today has been an unbelieveable day and we haven't even opened the doors for Ignition to start yet. This morning, students poured in and set our youth room up in less than 30 minutes. We shot an amazing video opener for our new series that we are kicking off tonight entitled, "My Generation" (nothing like the last minute, huh?). We spent some good time in prayer together for our youth service tonight. Students have been on the lines calling other students who haven't been to Ignition in a while and are inviting them back to tonight's service. The hangout factor and the relationship building moments have been priceless. It's extremely refreshing to see student leaders stepping up and owning their ministry. I'm looking forward to an amazing night! 

Amazing RYLC

Tonight kicked off an amazing night at the Realife Conference here in Springfield. Jeanne Mayo rocked our hearts tonight. I have heard her speak before, but tonight was incredible. Jeanne was so vulnerable and her message was powerfully delivered from her heart. I'm inspired to "fight until the final whistle" and work hard at what God has called me to do. I know that we're making a difference in Enid and that God is blessing ISM. Like she said, "Even if we are behind on the score board as long as we lay our hearts on the line and fight until the clock says zero, we can't be defeated." I'm pretty convinced that I could be a youth guy for life. I love what I do!

Monday Update

It's been a few days since I have posted anything here on my blog, and after you hear some of my updates you'll probably have a better understanding as to why that is.

1. We finally have a contract on our home in Indiana. Praise the Lord! After nearly two years, a sweet young lady and her little girls have made an acceptable offer on our home and we are slated to close on March 30th.

2. We have been looking for a new home here in Enid. First of all, this market may be shaky but we have nothing but trust in our God to go ahead and look to buy here. We know who is really in control of the economy and who blesses the those who tithe. Secondly, we plan on planting in Enid, OK for a very long time and so we are looking to buy a place to create family traditions and life-long memories for our children. (We'll let you know when we finalize any plans on a new home).

3. Kate is now 16 weeks along in her pregnancy. She is still looking extremly hot and amazingly skinny. Just last week she finally began to show the tiniest pooch. We're actually praying for her to gain a little weight. The first tri-mester caused her to slim down. Two weeks from today, we will know what we are having!

4. Speaking of slimming down, I have had the punnies all week. It hit me Wednesday before youth, and I thank the Lord that He allowed me to make it through the service that night. Thursday through Sunday though, I was bed ridden. Sunday morning, I finally convinced myself to get to the ER. After seeing the Doc and getting some good meds. I am finally on the mend. However, I have lost 4 lbs. from the sickness since Wednesday. That puts me at 24 lbs. since the beginning of this year. I'm only 8 lbs. from my ideal weight of 165.

5. I'm still loving life. How about you? I love my family, my friends, and my church. I love my job. I love what I am doing and I have the peace of God that surpasses all of my obstacles.

6. We began a new series at Central Assembly of God yesterday along the theme of "40 Days of Community". Check it out at www.enidcentral.org. Also, we have adapted Craig Groeschel's series at Life Church in our youth ministry called, "Hostage" and it has been amazing. You can check out the podcast of this youth series as well by going to www.ignitionstudents.com  

7. I'm ready for some good TV watching tonight. 24 and some recorded episodes that we have saved - I can't wait.

Thanks so much for checking out the update. I'll be sure to post more when I get the chance. So let me leave you with a scripture that has encouraged me today. It comes from Paul's writing in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 9 when the Lord says to us, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Know that when you are feeling down and out, that God is perfecting something in you. Recently I have felt weakened and worn out through my sickness. I have realize just how "invincible" I truly am, but this passage of scripture has spoken more to me than it ever has had in my life; and I do not ever want to forget that His grace is always sufficient.

No More Anger

Last night was an incredible night for us here at Ignition. I shared a message about how to deal with anger in a biblical way. Many kids were rocked and the altar time was incredible. God began to bring some healing and students were challenged to destroy their bitterness with forgiveness, and we talked about how to put up an eviction notice for the devil to take his foothold and get out of our hearts. It was awesome, and for me that is what ISM is all about. Tonight we are heading to OKC to the Ford Center for an annual concert event called, Winter Jam. It's almost as if we are going to party and celebrate the awesome move of God that we just had. I'm pretty stoked about hanging out with my kids and hearing some of my favorite music groups like Hawk Nelson, Brandon Heath, and Toby Mac in concert. It's going to be pretty awesome.

Incredible Artist

I guess this is review day for me. I don't usually do this, but while I was thinking about it I thought - why not? So...ok, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Genesis '09 Conference in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Josh Mayo rocked it out. However, at his event was a guy by the name of Caleb. He was an artist and he created some incredible pieces during a couple of the services during the conference. His website is www.lovespaint.com and his prices are pretty good for the quality of art work and the entertainment value. If you are a youth pastor looking for something that will tap into this generation of art lovers during your youth worship service or while you are trying to deliver an impacting message, then Caleb is your guy. I know that we are looking to bring this guy in at some point ourselves here at Ignition. If it interests you, you should give him a shout.

Christian Artist Review

I just got a new CD in the mail from my parents. I know what you are thinking, your parents? But seriously...they went to a concert about a week ago at a church in our community to see the band, Connersvine. The group is led by Colts punter, Hunter Smith. Their cd is pretty sweet. Their stuff is straight up worship music (which is really good) and it has a folk/rock sound to it. If you like Cademon's Call or Derek Webb, then you would really like Connersvine. Check it out.

Rebranding Your Image

The other day I was finishing a work out, and as I wiped the sweat away from my forehead I did what I almost always naturally do during a work out - I twisted the cap and took a drink of my favorite grape-flavored G2. As I was taking a drink, something hit me right in the cerebral cortex of my mind - what is a G2 anyway? You see, all of my life I have been drinking Gatorade.

We all know the story of how it was invented by a college science professor at Florida University to help rehydrate the "Gators" during a big game, but why after so many years would they want to call their product something else? We know that G2 is the second generation of Gatorade and it is a bit different from the original because it is lower in calories per bottle. It's the healthier formula. However, I have noticed on television lately that even the original "Gatorade" is now being called and packaged as "G". So why?

Was it because the product wasn't selling? I find that hard to believe. I haven't stopped drinking it! Was it because the old logo and packaging were out of date? Probably not. Or was it because ever so often it's just a good idea to rebrand and repackage your product so that it feels fresh?

The other day I had lunch with a friend who has been pastoring the same teenage ministry for over 12 years. He's done a great job, but he has decided that it's time to rebrand. His youth logo is getting a face lift and his website is under going some much needed restructuring. I think it's vital that the church be fresh. Don't miss understand me. They are still putting the same Gatorade in the bottle that they always have. Nothing is wrong with the product. It's good stuff. It's only being repackaged in a sharper more impacting way.

So what about the ministry you are a part of - are you getting bored with it? Because if you are, then odds are everyone else is bored with it too. Does your church turn heads in your community anymore? Do people drive by and notice that you are making an effort to connect with them? 

Have you ever noticed how often Pepsi, Coke and Mt. Dew change their can designs? They want to stay fresh. That's why I am a big believer in what my wife does at Creative Juice Graphic Design - because Kate has a passion for helping the church stay fresh and relevant. So the next time you drink a Gatorade, or sip on a soda - remember that the message we have for this world is so incredible that it's worth packaging it in a way that those who need it will be attracted to it.

*By the way, I hope you like the new look and design of my blog. Thanks for reading!